Wharf eatery is perfect spot to lap up some Greek Isle vibes
After a balmy night at this Hobart eatery transported me to Greece – I was thrilled to hear that when new chef Paul Foreman originally worked here it was a Greek restaurant, says Alix Davis.
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On a balmy summer evening, with its breezy blue and white decor and Kamaxitha, a 55.4m luxury yacht moored in the background, Franklin Wharf was giving strong Greek island vibes. So I was thrilled to hear from consulting chef Paul Foreman, who has been working with the team for the past few months, that when he originally worked here – many decades and iterations ago – it was a Greek restaurant. Those days are long gone, but you can certainly do worse than make customers feel like they’re on holiday in Greece, rather than at home in Hobart.
Franklin Wharf is a large space, but our destination this evening is the far end of the venue – slightly separate from the more casual and outdoor dining spaces. Our table enjoys an uninterrupted view of the harbour and the yacht Kamaxitha which is sadly not currently available for charter. We begin with a serve of fried pizza bread ($15) – a fat cigar of pizza dough that’s been stuffed with cheese, fried and drizzled with garlic butter. It’s pure, carby joy and I’d recommend splitting it between four. My husband orders the seafood chowder ($25) for his entree and Foreman tells us that this Indian-spiced chowder was highly divisive when he first launched it at another venue. Rather than a traditional New England chowder, this version has a korma base and a near edible “basket” holding a generous portion of seafood, making it easy to remove to the side or stir through the rich, creamy chowder. My entree is the Korean squid ($23) which is thinly sliced, battered and flash fried. It’s tender and comes topped with a flurry of togarashi, black sesame and pickled red onion with fresh salad leaves.
If you’re looking for a light meal, these two dishes would be more than enough. All the entrees are seafood based, which makes sense given Franklin Wharf’s dockside location.
Mains are generous and my husband opts for the Ocean & Earth ($60) which is a beautifully presented eye fillet topped with prawns, scallops and garlic butter. The accompaniments are also bountiful with a rich Paris mash and a medley of snow, snap and green peas. The fillet is also available sans seafood, but adding the ocean elements is only $8 extra which I think is great value. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten pork (Christmas ham is something completely different, amiright?) so I am happy to see a Scottsdale pork belly ($42) on the menu. This
Asian-inspired dish has been red-cooked (no crackling here) and is meltingly tender and falls apart. It comes with a neat package of green onion noodles that have been quick-fried, giving a crisp exterior and soft insides, charred choy sum and a creamy parsnip puree. There’s also a star anise-scented sauce to swipe through.
Each of these dishes is a complete meal but I love a side, so we’ve ordered a couple. Miso-roasted pumpkin with toasted pumpkin seeds ($12) is a fat wedge of pumpkin with wonderfully charred edges and a little zesty drizzle. The iceberg salad ($12) is perfectly crisp and dotted with delicately hued pickled onion and a sesame-maple dressing. It’s a lovely, palate-cleansing finish to our meal.
The portions here are generous, but we push on to dessert for you, dear readers. There’s a sticky toffee pudding ($15) that catches my eye, but I’ve had rather a lot of those lately so decide on the raspberry & dark chocolate brownie ($15) instead and am not disappointed. Topped with a cloud of Persian fairy floss and cloaked in a chocolate marshmallow sauce, this is the brownie dessert of a chocolate-lover’s dreams. Chocolate’s not necessarily my thing, but this dessert might just convert me!
Franklin Wharf has really lifted their game and is an ideal venue for everything from a casual Monday meal, to a group dinner or special occasion. The cocktail list is full of the classics and proving popular with a table near us, there’s also plenty of Tasmanian wines and beers on offer. So, if you’d like a relaxed Greek island vibe, with your Tasmanian inspired meal, make your way to the waterfront.
FRANKLIN WHARF
Murray St Pier, 28 Morrison St, Hobart
Opening hours: Open from 11am daily. Lunch from 12-2.30pm, Dinner from 5.30pm
On the menu:
Fried pizza bread, $15; seafood chowder, $25; Korean squid, $23; Ocean & Earth, $60; red-cooked pork belly, $42; miso pumpkin, $12; raspberry and dark chocolate brownie, $15
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